Venezuela

2010

New York, December 21, 2010--President Hugo Chávez Frías must veto two laws regulating the Internet and telecommunications that could promote further censorship and seriously limit freedom of expression in Venezuela, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Both provisions were passed on Monday by the National Assembly.

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New York, December 14, 2010--The Venezuelan legislature should reject proposed legal reforms that would harm freedom of expression, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.Legislationthat would regulate Internet content and could force broadcaster Globovisión off the air are up for consideration this week in the Venezuelan National Assembly.

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New York, November 24, 2010--Outstanding journalists at the forefront of the battle for press freedom in Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela were honored Tuesday evening at the Committee to Protect Journalists' 20th Annual International Press Freedom Awards benefit dinner.

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New York, August 23, 2010--The alleged mastermind in the 2009 murder of Venezuelan journalist Orel Sambrano, at left, was arrested Thursday in Colombia and is now facing extradition to Venezuela, local and international press reported.

Colombian authorities arrested Walid Makled García in the city of Cúcuta, near the border with Venezuela, according to news reports. A warrant was issued in 2008 for Makled in Venezuela on drug trafficking charges. Venezuelan authorities issued warrants for him last year in connection to Sambrano's murder and for allegedly participating in the 2009 killing of a local veterinarian, The Associated Press reported.

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New York, August 18,
2010--A Venezuelan court's decision to ban print media from publishing
images of violence is an attempt to censor news coverage of widespread crime in
the weeks leading up to the September 26 legislative elections, the Committee
to Protect Journalists said today.

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New York, June 14, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the nearly four-year prison term given to Venezuelan columnist Francisco “Pancho” Pérez on defamation charges, according to local news reports and CPJ’s interviews.

New York, June 1, 2010--Israel should immediately release the journalists it detained along with hundreds of peace activists on Monday after Israeli forces stormed a convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. According to international news reports and CPJ interviews, Israeli forces arrested at least 20 journalists aboard the humanitarian flotilla; three have since been released.

New York, May 21,
2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the conviction of a former
police officer in connection with the 2009 murder of Venezuelan journalist Orel Sambrano in the
northern city of Valencia.

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New York, March 30, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the conviction of Venezuelan journalist Gustavo Azócar on trumped-up financial crime charges. Azócar, an outspoken critic of the Venezuelan administration, had been jailed since July 2009 and barred from speaking publicly about the case.